‘Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958-1968’ at Tufts

PRESS RELEASE  TUFTS UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY
 
 

MEDFORD, MA, 19 JANUARY 2011 – The Tufts University Art Gallery is proud to present the major, large-scale exhibition Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958-1968 in its Tisch Family and Koppelman Galleries and Remis Sculpture Court from January 27 to April 3. Seductive Subversion examines the impact of women artists on the traditionally male-dominated field of Pop art. It reconsiders the narrow definition of the Pop art movement and reevaluates its critical reception. In recovering important female artists, the show expands the canon to reflect more accurately the women working internationally during this period. The exhibition features 70 artworks by 22 artists.

Some of these artists experimented with then-new, industrial materials such as Plexiglas, plastics, rubber, and neon to create unique works of art that responded to the effects of mass-production. Others subverted domestic skills they had learned as young girls to create the first “soft sculpture” using fabrics, plastics, and other found materials that deployed a craft aesthetic as high art. Others appropriated from mass culture, including Hollywood film, advertising, publicity photos, and commercial publishing to critique emergent popular culture and male fantasies about female desire. An eponymous 248-page hard-bound publication, co-edited by Sid Sachs and Kalliopi Minoudaki, with essays by Bradford Collins, Kalliopi Minioudaki, Patty Mucha, Linda Nochlin, Annika Ôhrner, Martha Rosler, Sid Sachs, and Sue Tate is available; price is $50 plus shipping and handling. Please contact: Hannah Swartz, 617-627-3094 or hannah.swartz@tufts.edu to request a copy.

Originally organized by the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery of The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, and curated by Sid Sachs, additional curatorial contributions to the exhibition have been made by Catherine Morris, Curator of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum. The Tufts presentation has been organized by Amy Ingrid Schlegel, director of galleries and collections at Tufts University. This project has been funded by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through the Philadelphia Exhibitions Initiative with additional support from the Marketing Innovation Program. This project was also supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. At Tufts, this presentation is made possible in part by the Kenneth A. Aidekman Family Foundation and Edward S. Merrin.

Artists Included in Seductive Subversion: Eveylne Axell (1935-1972); Pauline Boty (1938-1966); Vija Celmins (b. 1938); Chryssa (b. 1933); Niki de Saint Phalle (1932-2002); Rosalyn Drexler (b. 1926); Letty Eisenhauer (b. 1935); Dorothy Grebenak (1913-1990); Jann Haworth (b. 1942); Dorothy Iannone (b. 1933); Kiki Kogelnik (1935- 1997); Kay Kurt (b. 1944); Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929); Lee Lozano (1930-1999); Marisol (b. 1930); Mara McAfee (1929-1984); Barbro Östlihn (1930-1995); Faith Ringgold (b. 1930); Martha Rosler (b. 1943); Marjorie Strider (b. 1934); Idelle Weber (b. 1932); Joyce Wieland (1931-1998); May Wilson (1905-1986).

 
ART GALLERY NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

Seductive Subversion: Women Pop Artists, 1958-1968
at Tufts University Art Gallery
January 27 to April 3, 2011

Contact:
Hannah Swartz
(617) 627-3094
artgallery@tufts.edu

Tufts University Art Gallery
@ The Aidekman Arts Center
40 Talbot Avenue
Medford, MA 02155
http://artgallery.tufts.edu

 
Image: Martha Rosler, Woman Vacuuming Pop Art, 1966‐72, Photomontage, 24 x 20 inches; Courtesy of the Artist and Mitchell‐Innes & Nash, New York; copyright the artist.

 
ABOUT THE TUFTS UNIVERSITY ART GALLERY

The Tufts University Art Gallery animates the intellectual life of the greater university community through exhibitions and programs exploring new, global perspectives on art and on art discourse. The Gallery is fully accessible and admission is free ($3 suggested donation). Gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 11:00am to 5:00pm & Thursdays until 8:00pm. Free event parking is available in the lot behind the Aidekman Arts Center, off Lower Campus Road. During regular visitor hours, there are free visitor parking spots in the Gallery parking lot.

 
RELATED PUBLIC EVENTS

Public Opening Reception:
February 3, 5:30 to 8 p.m.

Special Curatorial Walkthrough of the Exhibition:
February 3, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
With curator Sid Sachs (University of the Arts), in dialogue with TUAG Director Amy Schlegel.

Lunch-time Curatorial Walkthroughs of the Exhibition:
February 18, 12:15-1 p.m.
March 16, 12:15-1 p.m.

Voice Your Vision! Drop-In Guided Tours of the Exhibition
February 10, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
March 31, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
A dynamic, discussion-based approach to directed looking at art. Knowledge of art is not required.

Panel Discussion: “The Legacy of Women Pop Artists”
February 24, 6 to 8 p.m.
Panelists: Kalliopi Minoudaki, art historian and publication co-editor; Catherine Morris, curator (Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum) Idelle Weber, artist.

Panel Discussion: International Women’s Day Celebration, “Women.Make.Art”
March 8, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (Alumni Lounge, Aidekman Arts Center)
Co-sponsored by the Women’s Studies Program, Women’s Center, and Africana Center; panelists TBA.